True Blue
by ChibiDawn23
Summary: There's more to Billy than scientific words. Sometimes, there's emotions. Complex ones. Ones that can't be defined by rational scientific means. And then sometimes, there's no words at all. Snapshots of Billy Cranston during "PR:Zeo"
1. Out of the Blue

**Disclaimer** **: I don't own the characters; they belong to Saban.**

 **Author's** **Note: I've been binge watching Zeo this weekend and well, I've always had a soft spot for Billy (on the playground playing PR with the guys when I was a kid, I was Billy. Just saying), and I'm seriously impressed at how David Yost played him during that season and so, I decided to get a little introspective on my favorite Blue Ranger, like how he felt at the end of Alien Rangers, or giving his Power to Tanya, or the whole Gold Ranger thing..."True Blue" is what came out of that.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Out of the Blue**

 **Angel Grove Swim Beach**

The five Aquitian Rangers disappeared in five bursts of colored light, leaving Billy Cranston and the other "Rangers of Earth" on the swim beach, alone. The five of them were quiet, contemplating the events of the past few weeks, Billy especially. He had grown close with the alien Power Rangers and despite having his own friends back, was going to miss the fascinating insights the Aquitians had brought with them. And the antics. _Going through the car wash of all things_...

"Billy?" Tommy spoke up. "Ready?"

Billy blinked and turned, realizing the others had started walking without him. He shivered in his plaid button down, the breeze coming off the newly-restored lake a bit chilly as evening settled. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, we better get back. I'm sure Tanya is wondering why we all took off so fast." He was eager to get to know the newest member of their team. He jogged to catch up with Tommy, Kat, Adam and Rocky, and the five of them disappeared in their own multicolored beams of light.

A moment later, Billy felt the beach sand give way to the hard tile floor of the Command Center, and the quietness of the beach was harshly interrupted by Alpha's panicked, "Ai yi yi yi yi yi!"

Tommy grasped the little robot by the shoulders. "Alpha, what's wrong?"

"Goldar and Rito have stolen the Zeo Crystal!" Alpha chattered. Billy jaw dropped and he glanced over to Tanya, who was looking very pale. It had to have been quite the shock; he remembered the first time he'd come face to face with Goldar-Rita's golden lackey was terrifying up close. His eyes fell on the empty modulator, his heart sinking. _That much power in the hands of Rita and Zedd...there's no telling what they could do with it._

He was thrown off his feet as the Command Center rocked violently. Zordon's image wavered in his tube and sparks flew around the room as warning bells sounded, echoing off the walls. Billy slammed sideways into one of the consoles. Pain radiated up his arm.

"What's happening?" Tanya gasped, terror laced in her voice.

Billy's logical mind raced through scenarios. The explosions were coming in evenly-spaced bursts… _A bomb? Detonators. They planted detonators._ It was bold, _really_ bold, for Rita and Zedd's standards.

"Rangers, you must evacuate the command center!" Zordon's deep voice cut through the alarms and explosions, and Billy looked up at the Eltarian, trapped in his time warp. _If the building comes down…_

"We can't leave you!" Adam protested, echoing what Billy was thinking in his head.

Billy felt small hands on his back- Alpha, pushing him out of the way. "Get out of here now!" the little robot was telling them. "Hurry!" _Alpha would never leave Zordon. We can't…_ I _can't just leave them here like this!_

Rocky, it appeared, had the same thought. "Come with us, Alpha!" he was begging him

"Alpha. Teleport them out _now_!" Zordon commanded. Another explosion rocked the room, and Billy had to hold onto the crystal modulator to keep upright. Around him, the others were trying to stand together, to do something, _anything_ , to prevent the inevitable.

Billy saw Alpha going for the console for the teleportation sequence. _No. We're not leaving!_ "Alpha!" He surged forward, trying to reach it before the robot. "No!" The console sparked and fire erupted in front of him. He threw his hands over his eyes.

He thought he saw a flash of blue before the world went black.

* * *

The next thing he knew, Kat was calling his name. His fingers scrambled for purchase in the sand… _sand?_ He opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, outside. He turned his head, looked up.

The Command Center exploded, erupting in smoke and flame. The shockwave pounded him back into the sand. _No. No! Please!_ He hadn't realized he'd screamed the final two words out loud until Adam was grabbing him around the waist to keep him from running back up the rocks.

The six of them stared mutely at the towering column of smoke. Rubble rained down around them, but nobody noticed or cared.

"It's…gone," Adam choked out.

Billy gaped at the smoking precipice that he'd practically been living in for the past few weeks, working tirelessly with Delphine and the other Aquitar Rangers to restore his five friends back to adults, to destroy Hydro Hog…A place that had always felt like….like _home_ …A place where he'd stood with some of the most important people in his life, through the most important moments in his life, where he'd done some of the most important things in his life...

"Zordon and Alpha," Rocky breathed, pain etched in the words.

"Do you think…they could've survived?" Kat whispered, looking up at Tommy. The White Ranger ran a hand through his long hair, his face blank.

"I dunno," he said finally, and it shook Billy. "I don't know" was something you didn't really want to hear from your leader.

"What are we gonna do?" Kat asked tearfully. Tanya put an arm around her waist, trying to offer some comfort, but Billy could see that the newest arrival was in shock herself.

"This…" Tommy began, then paused, choosing his words carefully. "This could be…the _end_ …of the Power Rangers."

Billy shrugged out of Adam's grip. "No!" he said, more forcefully than he intended. "No, I refuse to believe that!" He started running back up to the Command Cen-where the Command Center had once stood, ignoring the protests of the people behind him as he ran with a one track mind, ignoring the pain in his side and the pounding in his head. All he could think about were his mentor for the past four years and the little robot he considered family…

He scrambled to the top of the point and skidded to a stop as the full scale of what happened had hit him.

There _was_ no Command Center. It had been reduced to the foundations…piles of rock where the giant white walls had once stood, like a medieval castle on a hill. His knees shook and he had to actually tell himself to stay standing.

Behind him, he heard gasps and swearing from the others. For a few minutes, they were silent, the only sound coming from crackling flame and crumbling rock.

"I hope Zordon and Alpha survived," Tommy said, but the sentiment seemed hollow as they looked around. There was nothing left. No signs of Alpha, no signs of Zordon…no signs of anything recognizable.

"I thought….I thought the Command Center was the one safe place Rita and Zedd could never touch…" Kat admitted, brushing tears out of her eyes as she surveyed the scene.

"Yeah," Adam said bitterly, " _now_ look at it."

"There's gotta be…. _something_ …that we can do," Rocky spoke up.

"I wish I knew what," Billy said aloud. _If Alpha hadn't teleported me out._ _If I could've somehow isolated the explosions. If I had just_ been _in there, I could've done something!_

 _I could've saved them..._

* * *

 ** _To be continued..._**


	2. Blues Before and After

**Chapter Two: Blues Before and After**

It all came down to simple math.

 _Five parts of the Zeo Crystal. Five Rangers sent on quests to retrieve the sub-crystals that made it whole. Traditionally, five Power Rangers. Six people. Five Zeo crystals…_

Billy had known his numbers since he was two. He was doing high school algebra when he was eight. As he hung back, looking at Tommy, Adam, Rocky, Tanya and Kat…he knew.

Time was up.

It was selfish of him, he knew, to want one for himself. Tanya had proven her worth, assisting Aisha with her quest for her sub-crystal. She was holding up remarkably well in the face of everything, considering hours ago she'd been twelve years old and a normal child, come face to face with Goldar, watched the Command Center explode, and now...she was a Power Ranger,

 _Not yet...not if they give it to me_ , he was thinking. But then what about Tanya? It was no coincidence she was here. No coincidence that she'd run into Aisha, helped her with her quest, and come back in her stead.

No…Billy knew. "Zordon, before you continue, there's something I need to say," he spoke up quickly, interrupting Zordon.

"Yes, Billy. I believe I know what it is," Zordon replied. His voice was somber. Obviously, their Eltarian mentor could do simple equations as well.

Tommy was more perceptive than Billy gave him credit for sometimes. The White Ranger turned around, his voice etched with concern. "What's up, Billy?"

Billy couldn't turn to face him, staring back at the doorway, wondering if it was too late to run, so he didn't have to do this. "Well, as we all know," he began quietly, "the crystal has five subdivisions. Which means there's only enough power for five rangers." His voice caught, and he took a breath.

"I'll step down, Billy," Tanya cut in. "You've all been here longer than I have, and you know how to handle the Power."

She'd given him the out. _I could take it. I could…_ "True, we have been here longer," he heard himself saying, wondering where this logical thinking was coming from, not when he wanted to run across the room and take up the Blue Ranger mantle once more. "But, I think there's more to consider than that."

"Like _what_?" Tommy burst out.

Billy took several calming breaths. _I will_ not _cry_ , he ordered himself. That Billy was long gone, disappeared after he became a Ranger. Tanya was staring at the floor, and damn it if he didn't want to tell her to stop. Didn't she realize what he was doing, what he was giving up so _she_ could be a Ranger? Four years... _four years_...the best four years of his life. Before Zordon teleported him out of the Youth Center and into a heap on the Command Center floor with Trini, Kimberly, Zack and Jason, Billy had been invisible. But now...he was part of a team. He had friends. He was a _hero_ , for crying out loud. Earth's first Blue Ranger. He _meant_ something. But take away the suit, the Power...did he _still_? Was he still... _worthy_?

Finally, he turned around. "Working with the Alien Rangers made me realize something-"

"What's that?" Rocky cut in. The Red Ranger sounded confused. Kat was near tears again, and Adam had joined Tanya in staring at the floor.

 _Stop it, all of you. Do you realize how hard you're making this_? Billy wanted to yell at them. "That having me _here_ may be more important than me _being_ a Power Ranger," Billy continued. _Maybe if I say it out loud I'll believe it._

Rocky shook his head, about to protest, but Kat spoke up before he could. "What are you saying?" she asked Billy.

"What I'm _trying_ to say is that…I think that it's time to pass the Power on to someone else," Billy said, trying to inject some confidence into his voice. "Tanya…I'm giving my crystal to you," he finished.

The smile that broke out, unbidden, on Tanya's face almost made him feel good with his decision.

 _Almost_. "From this point on, _you_ are a Power Ranger," he told her, throwing on a brave smile.

"Billy…." The person in the room who'd known him the longest, whom he had confided things in, who had taught him to be confident in himself… _really needs to shut up right about now_ , Billy thought as he looked over at Tommy, the smile still plastered on his face. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Tommy asked him.

 _Not even a little._ "Tommy, trust me. This is gonna be the best thing for everybody," he assured his friend.

"As you know, Billy," Zordon said, "it is never easy to see one of you give up your powers. However, in this case, I believe you will prove yourself to be even more valuable based here in the Power Chamber."

"Billy, you've done so much for us." Kat told him. Billy shot her a grateful smile. _Nice to see someone sees it_.

"Katherine is right. During our recent time of upheaval, you accepted the position of leader with no hesitation. As a result, the rangers were able to bring the sub crystals safely home," Zordon told him.

Any other moment, Billy would've basked in the praise. Right now, he wanted anything but. "I'm just glad I could help. And if there's ever an emergency, I can still assume the Zeo Power," he added.

A total fabrication; he had no idea if he could or not, but it seemed to make everyone more at ease.

* * *

After he suffered through the hugs and high fives from his team-his _former_ teammates, he corrected himself, he stepped back, beside Alpha, his fake smile still plastered in place, as the others stepped forward at Zordon's behest.

"Rangers," Zordon spoke up, perhaps in an attempt to get the attention away from Billy, to give him a moment to himself, "A new day is upon us, and the time has come for you to accept the powers of the Zeo Crystal," he announced.

Tommy picked his Zeonizer off the work bench, and glanced back at Billy.

Billy couldn't keep up the brave front anymore. He looked away, pretending that he had something to do with activating them, when in reality it was Alpha pulling the strings. His gaze stayed rooted the floor as Zordon walked them through their new Powers, their new colors. Pink for Kat (well, that wasn't a change), Yellow for Tanya, and-

 _Blue_. For Rocky. He felt Alpha put a small hand on his shoulder, clenched his fist so hard his fingernails bit into his palm. "They're amazing, Billy," he heard Alpha say.

He put on the smile again, tried to be happy for his friends. He looked down at Alpha and nodded.

"The Power Rangers as you knew them are gone," Zordon was saying.

 _Affirmative_ , Billy agreed.

* * *

 **Author's Note** : Billy might come off a little OOC in this chapter, but I really, _really_ can't imagine that he was all like, "Yeah, cool, no, I'll be the 'man in the chair'" after three years as a Ranger.

 **Author's Note II:** In case anybody is curious, the chapter titles are all popular songs with the word 'Blue' in the title. Even the title of the story, "True Blue" is a song title.


	3. Bluer than Blue

**Disclaimer : I don't own the characters; they belong to Hasbro. It is Hasbro now, officially, right? Or since technically this is MMPR, is it still Saban? Corporate takeovers confuse me.**

 **Author's** **Note : This one's short, sorry, but it was all that would come to me. And maybe it's all that it needs to be :) Also not sure why I changed the tense on it...it just seemed appropriate to keep it in the moment for this one.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Bluer than Blue**

 _Out of body experience (n): A sensation of being outside one's own body; typically of floating and being able to observe oneself from a distance._

In psychology they're referred to as dissociative experience. Most commonly associated with near death experiences, extreme physical activity, and sleep paralysis. Neither of which Billy's really experienced lately. Unless you count running from an explosion, being unconscious, and giving up the Zeo crystal to Tanya... _Hmmm_.

Regardless, he's pretty sure he's having one when he sees Rocky morph into Zeo Ranger 3. It's strange to hear a morphing call and not feel the Power rush through, that tingle caused by morphing grid energy coursing through the body. To have your vision suddenly darkened by a tinted visor. Feeling like you could even take Jason Scott or Tommy Oliver one-on-one in hand to hand.

Maybe it's more like a phantom limb, Billy decides as Rocky removes his helmet. He can still feel the sensation. His feet unconsciously form to the boots, his fists curl in anticipation of a battle. The team teleports out to fight off their new enemies- the Cogs. Machinelike drones. They're fascinating, really, a marvel to study up close. How they move, how they react, how they can be destroyed.

But it's Rocky in the metallic Zeo blue, not him.

And he's observing on the viewing globe, not there in person.

Zordon doesn't say anything when he turns away from the viewing globe and leans up against the panels, sliding to the floor, his head in his hands.

Alpha puts a hand on his back, but it's only a small comfort.

This is how it will be from now on.

Observing from a distance.


	4. Graduation Blues

**Author's Note** **: This one comes from a chat with AvalonBay. I think we both got the sense that this episode was kind of the beginning of the end for Billy Cranston as a character. It kinda broke my heart to rewatch it. And I kept the title of the episode for the chapter title because, well, 'blue' was already in it, and more appropriate than anything I could've come up with.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: Graduation Blues**

 _It's not everyday someone forgets to graduate!_

He hadn't forgotten. Billy was well aware of how many credits he had under his belt. He was just hoping nobody would bring it up.

First the Command Center. Then his Ranger powers. School was the last place he had left that felt…normal. Familiar. So much had changed in the past few months, Angel Grove High was his one safe haven. The place where there was still a part of him that felt like he _belonged_. A place where Billy Cranston had a purpose and passion...where he _mattered_.

Now even that was being taken away.

* * *

 _What are you gonna do with all your spare time?_

It had been a perfectly honest question from Tanya. And yet he couldn't help but feel slightly offended. Is that what all his time spent at the Command Center fixing Zords, designing weapons, just something he did in his _spare time_? Like it was a hobby? Something for fun?

He was grateful Skull had hustled him out of Ernie's when he did. It saved him from anymore awkward questions- or answers.

 _Yes. This is the correct Billy._

Well, thank God. He was starting to wonder if he was turning invisible.

 _Your great intelligence is known even on Aquitar._

Seriously? Is that the only character trait that _anybody_ knows about Billy Cranston?

Geez, he was feeling particularly bitter today.

* * *

 _Well, you know the Power Rangers are ready to help at any time._

Because apparently, Billy wasn't capable of helping without a Blue Ranger suit. After all…what he did at the Command Center was just something he did in his _spare time_.

He was starting to wonder if the others could sense he was just a tiny bit stressed when he slammed Cestro's prototype down on the console. But nobody said anything.

 _Billy needs your help. We'll take care of this._

Wasn't it _Cestro_ that had come to _Billy_ , instead of the other way around?

* * *

While he was working on the modifications for the energy source for the prototype Zeo Blaster ( _just a hobby…)_ , a thought occurred to him. An ironic thought.

Most high school seniors took some kind of vacation after graduation. For most, it was Mexico, or Canada, or Europe, places where the drinking age was lower, the laws were looser, and a feeling freedom abounded.

Cestro was brilliant in his own right. But all these Earth modifications Billy was making, all the Earth parts…he could teach Cestro how to use it, how to modify it to work back on the all-water world of Aquitar, but…

 _I do not think I could make those modifications myself._

And that sealed the deal.

 _The Rangers of both worlds are lucky to have you in their lives._

Well, so far, Cestro was the only one showing it. Still, it felt really, _really_ nice to hear it. Maybe a change in scenery wouldn't be so bad...

* * *

He wouldn't even talk about the whole contacts thing. _Stupid._

He just wanted this day to end.

* * *

When he put his glasses on for the first time in _months_ …he felt like hitting something.

That Billy was supposed to be _gone_! _That_ Billy was an insecure, socially-awkward freshman who had no rhythm and could barely stand upright during a kata. Who got thrown around during a fight rather than taking charge with confidence.

He caught his reflection in the polished console. He didn't like what he saw. That Billy had grown and changed so much in three years. Today, with all that he was feeling- with Tommy jumping in front of him and Cestro at the beach, like he needed to be protected, like being known only for his intelligence, with the glasses back on...it felt like a relapse.

First chance he got, Alpha was teleporting him home to get his spare pair.

* * *

Billy took one long look out at the swim beach. The battle with the Hydro-Contaminator had been long over, and yet as Cestro went through pre-flight check, there were no bursts of teleporting light. Tommy's car wasn't rolling into the parking lot, packed full of his friends. Looked like the impromptu graduation party was the only going-away he was going to get today.

 _Are you sure you want to do this, Billy_? Cestro's question echoed in his mind.

 _They're not even here to say goodbye._

Cestro glanced his way. "Ready, Billy?" he asked.

Perhaps this was a graduation of a different sort. An opportunity to find out who Billy Cranston was- away from school, away from a 4.0 GPA, away from the Command Center…away from being a Power Ranger. Away from Tommy, Kat, Tanya, Adam, and Rocky. Who was Billy Cranston, when all that was familiar was gone?

He looked back at Cestro, and nodded once.

 _Now what, indeed?_


End file.
